Quit VI

"They've found us!" Shane shouted. He readied the blaster he had found in Stingray's ship. They ran into the jungle growth for cover as the starship randomly shot out blasters. "We've got to run for cover or else we're dead!"

Suddenly the star ship seemed to rock back and forth. Then it rapidly descended. They heard a large crash in the brush. "Or not…" Shane blinked.

"Five will get you ten Kilbane did that," Stingray groaned. "He's an even worse pilot than you are Goose!"

"Stingray…" Darkstar chided.

"Well he got us stranded here!" Stingray snapped.

"Look we can play the blame game later," Shane said. "We need to get to cover and…"

"Who died and made you boss?" Stingray snapped.

Shane knew that tone of voice. It was the tone indicating when all Supertroopers were giving into the madness inside of him. "Stingray listen…" Shane was hoping that Stingray would see reason.

It wasn't going to happen. "No! You listen! We're doing things my way now!"

"Ray please listen…" Darkstar pleaded.

But he was angry. "This is all your fault! You're the one Kilbane wants but you dragged us into it! We have enough problems trying to survive, worrying about the baby and all those stupid dreams we've been having about the Cryocrypt and mermaids!"

"Wait did you say mermaids?" Shane did a double take. "I know about those dreams! Stingray, Darkstar they're…"

"JUST SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Stingray howled, giving into the madness and tackled Shane. Shane had no choice but to fight back.

"Stars…" Darkstar groaned. She knew there was nothing more she could do until the madness passed. "Not now! Stingray why did you have to have an episode now?"

"Kilbane, you moron!" Brainchild snapped as the rest of the Supertroopers came out of the brush. "I told you not to bang your head against the computer!"

"Me? It was Chimera's lousy piloting and that stupid chicken of hers that caused the ship to crash!" Kilbane snapped.

"It's not my stupid chicken! It's…"Chimera began when she saw Stingray and Shane fighting. "What the? Now what's going on?"

"First they're helping Goose and now they're fighting him?" Brainchild snapped. "It's getting so you need a scorecard to figure out who's on who's side!"

"I should have known," Jackhammer scoffed. "Stingray wasn't helping the Runt. He was helping himself so he could beat the snot out of him!"

"That guy always was a little selfish," Gravestone remarked. "So do we all just jump in or what?"

"Let 'em fight," Kilbane decided. "Then we blast apart the winner! If it's the Runt, fine. If it's Stingray, we blast him because he took out the Runt before we did!"

"Finally a sensible plan," Brainchild agreed. "I guess banging your head like that did do some good Kilbane. For once."

Shane and Ray were fighting and punching each other. But as enraged as Stingray was, Shane was clearly the better fighter. "Stingray! Listen to me! It's that damn X-factor in your system! It's making you behave irrationally!" Shane pleaded.

"Shut up you weak little…" Stingray charged at him. But Shane dodged aside. "STAND STILL AND FIGHT!"

Then a thought occurred to Shane. "The X-Factor…it's like a virus isn't it? You can't help it! Maybe…It worked before…"

"I'm gonna tear you to pieces!" Stingray charged at Shane. "Always making me look bad in front of Darkstar!"

Shane stood his ground and grabbed Stingray. "Sorry Stingray but if this brings you back to your senses…" He then focused his bio-defenses and gold energy began to shine around him.

"What is this? You gonna light bright me to death?" Stingray snapped. Then the energy surrounded him. "Hey! What are you doing? Stop it! Stop it!"

"No I won't! I'm going to snap you out of this madness if it's the last thing I do!" Shane shouted as he poured his healing energy into Stingray. He had been focusing on his meditation exercises soon after he learned this new skill so he could call forth this new abiltiy with his bio defenses. And it seemed to work.

However, as it so often was in the life of Shane Gooseman, nothing was ever easy.

"AAAAHH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!" Stingray screamed. He tried to get away but Shane held on.

"Shane? What are you doing?" Darkstar gasped.

"Trying to bring your boyfriend back to his senses!" Shane gritted his teeth. "Come on Ray! Snap out of it!"

"What the hell is Gooseman doing?" Kilbane blinked.

"I dunno…" Jackhammer shifted uncomfortably. "But I don't like the sound of it."

"AAAAH!" Stingray set off a powerful optic blast that shattered his sunglasses. The sunglasses fell off. Suddenly the blast stopped. But Stingray kept screaming.

Under his shirt, Shane felt the crystal he kept around his neck react. He knew something was happening but wasn't exactly sure what. But it was affecting Stingray.

"GET OUT OF MY MIND!" Stingray screamed. He yanked free of Shane. The glow stopped. Stingray fell to the ground violently shaking.

"What did you do to him?" Darkstar ran to Stingray.

"I tried to get the X-Factor out of his system," Shane explained.

"You did what?" Darkstar yelled. Stingray groaned. "Stingray? Stingray?"

"What…What did you do to me?" Stingray whimpered. "My powers…I can't use my powers! My eye blasts! They're gone!"

Stingray wasn't the only one horrified. The Renegade Supertroopers witnessed the whole thing. "Did the Runt just do what I think he did?" Jackhammer gasped.

"He took away his powers with a single touch…" Brainchild was in shock. "Don't get close to him! He'll do the same to us!"

"So we'll just use our blasters on him!" Kilbane roared as he fired. Shane easily ducked the blasts and blasted the weapon out of Kilbane's hand. "OW!"

"Smart move Kilbane," Brainchild taunted. "Try to out shoot the one Supertrooper that's better than all of us when it comes to weapons!"

"For once the little toad is right," Chimera agreed. "We can't take him on now! We have to get out of here before he steals our powers too!"

Kilbane looked like he was going to protest at first, but then he realized for once in his life Shane had some kind of edge over him. And he didn't like it one bit.

"Another time Runt!" Kilbane snarled. "When I figure out how you pulled off that little trick!" He fled with the other Renegade Supertroopers behind him.

"Another time…" Shane growled. He turned and saw Stingray get up, still shaking. "Stingray I…"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Stingray screamed in terror.

"Stingray I…" Shane began to realize that something went horribly wrong.

Stingray howled and fled into the jungle in fear. "Stingray wait!" Shane protested. Then he saw Darkstar look at him. Her eyes were filled with fear, horror…and hate.

"I never wanted to believe it…" She looked at him in horror. "Even after everything…I always thought that deep down you never wanted to turn against us. That you weren't our enemy…"

"Darkstar I'm not! I…" Shane pleaded. "I didn't mean to…"

"Didn't mean to?" Darkstar shouted. "Like you didn't mean to turn on us? Like you didn't mean to get us involved in you and Kilbane's personal little war? Stingray was right! You are a threat to us! Everything you touch becomes poisoned!"

"No…Darkstar I didn't…" Shane reached out to her.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Darkstar shrieked. "YOU'RE NOT ONE OF US SHANE! YOU'RE NOT A SUPERTROOPER! YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

Shane stiffened. He was in shock. He couldn't say anything. His heart was breaking for a woman he once loved and knew deep down was his blood sister.

He simply stood there and watched his once and only true friend from Wolf Den flee out of his life forever.